In September, the First Circuit Court of Appeals joined several other Circuits in holding that section 1109(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides an official creditors’ committee with an “unconditional right to intervene” in an adversary proceeding related to a bankruptcy. The case, Promesa Financial Oversight and Management Board, was the appeal of an order from the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, which had denied an intervention motion in a debt adjustment case brought under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”). The First Circuit reversed the order, distinguishing the case from the First Circuit’s own precedent In re Thompson upon which the District Court had relied. The Promesa Financial Oversight and Management Board decision aligns the First Circuit with the Second and Third Circuits and evidences a growing Circuit trend toward recognizing the unconditional right of a creditors’ committee to intervene, rejecting the Fifth Circuit’s contrary analysis in the Fuel Oil case, which had previously represented the prevailing view for many years.

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The Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable promotes dissemination of academic and practitioner views of current bankruptcy issues, via weekly posts targeting issues of interest, typically linking to a more extended analysis elsewhere. For inquiries and comments, please contact us at bankruptcyproject@law.harvard.edu.